[Ireland] Buck naked
A new documentary explores the pain of living with the wrong gender felt by female-to-male transsexual Buck Angel. But as the trans community role model tells DONALD CLARKE , he has also been fortunate enough to live as the person he wanted to be

[Turkey]ECHR agreed to examine north gay ban case
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has agreed to examine a legal challenge against Turkey for the north’s continued failure to repeal a law banning homosexuality.

[Montenegro]Guidelines for medical workers in their work with LGBT persons - MNE version
Within the program of promotion and protection of human rights and with the aim to improve the quality of services for LGBT persons, with a special emphasis on the very process of service provision, Juventas created a set of guidelines for professionals in the area of health and rights i.e. medical workers, psychologists, legal practitioners (judges, prosecutors) and police officers.

[Lebanon] The Dark Side of Lebanon’s Antiquated Sex Laws
Rectal exams to prove homosexuality have been condemned by doctors, lawyers, and judges, yet are still administered by the Lebanese authorities. The procedure has come back to light after the recent Plaza Cinema incident in which 36 men were arrested under suspicion of homosexuality and subjected to the ordeal at a police station.

[Vietnam] First Gay Pride Parade Sign Of Changing Times In Vietnam
Coming out to her parents was one of the hardest things she's ever done, says Hoang Ngan, 26. Her father is the eldest son in his family and has no sons himself to continue the family line in the strongly patriarchal society.

[New Zealand] Councillor adds to complaints about booklet
An Auckland councillor has joined a number of members and allies of the trans community in complaining to the Human Rights Commission about a “discriminatory” booklet on prostitution in South Auckland.

[Canada] Jenna Talackova dishes on posing nude for PETA and role model duties
From “wild child” to equality rights poster girl, Jenna Talackova is taking on her new responsibility with pride.
The transgender beauty queen made international headlines after she was booted out of the Miss Universe Canada pageant earlier this year for not being “naturally born female.”

[USA] Defining Domestic Violence Among Gay and Bisexual Men and the Link to HIV
Gay and bisexual men who experienced domestic violence were twice as likely to not use condoms during their last sexual encounter, according to research based out of Atlanta and presented Friday, July 27, at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington, DC. What’s more, the research claims to provide for the first time a definition of domestic violence that is specific to gay and bisexual men, and this definition does include HIV-related violence.

[AL, USA] Transgender Warrior: The story of Birmingham’s Jody Suzanne Ford
Lou Reed made it seem easy. His 1972 “Walk on the Wild Side” pulled gender conversion out of the closet, on to the open road:
Holly came from Miami, Fla.,
Hitchhiked her way across the U.S.A.,
Plucked her eyebrows on the way,
Shaved her legs and then he was a she.
Because Holly was a glam-rock myth, Reed didn’t cover the reality of sex change. Holly went from Miami to New York. In places like Birmingham, going from a he to a she meant more than shaving legs.

[PA, USA] Voter-ID trial puts trans, elderly constituents on stand
The showdown over Pennsylvania’s new voter-identification law made it to court last week.
A Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court trial began July 25 in the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania suit against the state over the new measure, which will require voters to present state-issued ID at the polls starting this November. The trial is expected to last through the end of this week.

[PA, USA] The Story of Team Desiree
We were proud to include musical prodigy Desiree Hines in our “New Who’s Who” last fall. Not only is Hines breaking boundaries as a transgender African-American classical organist in America, but she’s a truly talented force who’s been spending the last year in a rigorous music program at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.